The President of the largest Ukrainian telecom operator Kyivstar, Oleksandr Komarov, confirmed the plans of the parent company VEON to completely exit the Russian market no later than mid-October 2023.

"Despite the fact that business in the Russian market brought almost half of the VEON group of companies' annual income, shareholders and management made the right decision, and we at Kyivstar categorically support it," he was quoted as saying in the company's press release on Wednesday.

According to Komarov, exit from the Russian market will have a positive impact on the parent company.

The head of Kyivstar recalled that VEON began preparations for leaving Russia back in November 2022. However, the group of companies headquartered in the Netherlands took a long time to comply with numerous legal procedures and regulatory requirements of the EU, USA and UK, since VEON is listed on the Nasdaq (the USA) and Euronext (EU) stock exchanges and has shareholders in the USA, EU and Great Britain, Komarov pointed out.

He also emphasized that despite the fact that VEON owns 100% of the shares of Kyivstar, the Ukrainian telecom operator is completely autonomous in its activities: almost all key decisions in the company are made by the board of directors, guided by the legislation of Ukraine.

The head of the company added that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, Kyivstar has already invested UAH 8.2 billion in the development of the country's telecom market, paid UAH 15.2 billion in taxes to the state, and also provided support to government agencies, military, security and law enforcement agencies in the amount of more than UAH 1.4 billion, and subscribers receive bonuses and services without additional payment in the amount of UAH 577 million.

Komarov recalled that VEON is expanding its investment plans in Ukraine and has allocated $600 million to restore the country's telecom infrastructure and develop modern telecommunications technologies within three years.